Making disciples of Jesus to the glory of God.
We’re all about the gospel.
The gospel is the great news that God is forgiving and adopting sinners as his very own children through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The gospel empowers everything we do.
Gospel-empowered worship
We worship what we love most. When the gospel of Jesus captures our hearts, our response is expressing ultimate love for God with our words and deeds (worship). On Sunday morning we worship through prayer, singing, hearing the Word and responding in trust and obedience. In our Citygroups we worship through the study of Scripture, prayer and service. All that we do is designed to form in us a lifestyle of worship.
Gospel-empowered community
When God saves us, He bring us into a relationship not only with Himself, but with one another. In fact, the Bible describes us as brothers and sisters thanks to Jesus’ work on the cross. Therefore we want everything we do to cultivate and express love for one another.
Gospel-empowered mission
The new love God gives us doesn’t end with Him and one another. He also wants us to extend that love outside of ourselves, just as He extended His love to us. Therefore we exist to love the city around us, and the world beyond it. We seek to do this through loving service and clear gospel proclamation.
Pastoral Team
Matt Cohen
Lead Pastor
Jon Chin
Executive Pastor
Paul Fuller
Associate Pastor
Mark Giacobbe
Associate Pastor
Walter Shaw
Associate Pastor
Nick Dastalfo
Lay Pastor
Elliot Edwards
Lay Pastor
Tom Mathew
Lay Pastor
Gordon Pfeil
Lay Pastor
Staff Team
Zack Connell
Director of Sunday Operations
Elly Deschamps
Children’s Ministry Resident
Alan Kahlenbeck
Director of Finance
Emily Ronca
Compassion Partnerships Director
What do we believe?
There are truths that serve as the foundation on which everything we believe is built upon.
The Scriptures are true, authoritative and sufficient.
There is one true God, who eternally exists as three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
All humans – Christ excluded – are sinful by nature and choice
Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary death on the cross and rose from the dead three days later
The consequence of sin is eternal death, but the free gift of God is eternal life for all who believe in Jesus Christ
The local church is God’s primary means for making disciples of Jesus and spreading his glory everywhere
What are our theological distinctives?
The covenant members of Citylight Church affirm our statement of beliefs and our member covenant. The elders/pastors of Citylight Church hold to these particular theological distinctives that we consider open-handed for our members.
Gospel-centrality
We believe the gospel is both the means by which we are saved and the truth and power by which we are sanctified. The gospel enables us to joyfully do what is pleasing to God and conforms us to the likeness of Jesus. We never grow beyond our need for the gospel of grace.
God’s sovereignty in saving sinners
We believe God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be his adopted children, not on the basis of anything we would do, but on the basis of his sovereign grace. We believe the Holy Spirit effectually draws the elect to himself through the gospel and keeps us in Christ forever. We believe God sovereignly uses the means of prayer and witness to draw the elect to himself.
Holy Spirit empowerment through a continuationist framework
We believe that Christ-like life and ministry depends on being continually filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We believe the Spirit sovereignly bestows all the spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament to Christians today for the building up of the Body of Christ.
Equality and complementarity in home and church
We believe that God created humanity in his image male and female. Men and women, therefore, share moral, spiritual and personal equality. We also believe that men and women function in a complementary fashion in the home and church. Husbands are called to provide Christ-like headship in their homes and male elders are to provide Christ-like servant leadership through the office of elder or pastor.
Believer’s baptism
We believe that baptism is picture of union with Jesus in his death and resurrection. Since we are raised with Christ through faith and become partakers of the new covenant through faith, Citylight church only baptizes those who give a credible profession of repentance and faith in Christ.
Missionary understanding of the local church
We believe the local church is God’s primary plan for establishing his Kingdom on earth. We believe the church is called to make disciples of Jesus in its Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the Earth. We believe the primary means of accomplishing this mission is by planting healthy churches that plant healthy churches.